Mission and Vision
The Interdisciplinary Forum on Anthropology launched the research project “For the Culture of Care. A response to theanthropological crisis.” In collaboration with professors and researchers from other institutions, today's socio-cultural context will be analyzed in which the crucial nature of the anthropological “crisis” is felt at various levels. Hasty and partial diagnoses are insufficient, because «all of this shows the urgent need for us to move forward in a bold cultural revolution» (Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato si’, 114). The project starts from the awareness that «what is taking shape before us today is “a great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge, and it will demand that we set out on the long path of renewal”. This is also the case for ecclesiastical faculties and universities» (Francis, Apostolic Constitution Veritatis Gaudium, 6).
The Aim of the Research
The research project aims to offer one of the possible responses to the anthropological crisis, for which we feel the need to re-establish the culture of care, which constitutes the profound vocation of the human person: the care of the human being and his/her flourishing in different dimensions of existence (e.g., relationships, the environment, the common good, artistic heritage, the sacred).
Research Team
Principal Investigators
Francesco Russo (Pontificia Università della Santa Croce)
Luca Valera (Universidad de Valladolid/Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)
Academic Board
Giuseppe Curcio (Università degli Studi dell’Aquila)
Nicola Di Stefano (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche)
Rosa Lastra (Queen Mary University of London, UK)
Antonio Malo (Pontificia Università della Santa Croce)
Juan Narbona (Pontificia Università della Santa Croce)
Javier Pérez Wever (Universidad del Istmo, Guatemala)
Juan Rego (Pontificia Università della Santa Croce)
Paola Ricci Sindoni (Università degli Studi di Messina)
Maria Teresa Russo (Università degli Studi di Roma Tre)
Research Fellows
Víctor Torre de Silva (Pontificia Università della Santa Croce)
Institutional Partners
Università degli Studi dell’Aquila (Italy)
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Chile)
Home Renaissance Foundation (UK)
Universidad del Istmo (Guatemala)
Università degli Studi di Messina (Italy)
Università degli Studi di Roma Tre (Italy)
Pontificia Università della Santa Croce (Italy)
Universidad de Valladolid (UVa) (Spain)
Areas of Studies
The areas that will be studied are: 1. The labyrinth of desire, faced with a pedagogy of virtuous relationships with the world and others. 2. Vulnerability, pain, and demand for care. 3. Relationality and freedom between natural, digital, and humanoid environments. 4. The care for the natural environment, since «the deterioration of nature is closely connected to the culture which shapes human coexistence» (Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in veritate, 51), and, at the same time, the care for the artistic beauty, since «ecology, then, also involves protecting the cultural treasures of humanity» (Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato si’, n. 143). 5. The care for the spaces and times of daily life: work, celebration (as a place for the care of traditions, the sacred, and relationships), the home, and the city.
Activities
Activities already planned are:
- Refresher course for teachers, on the theme: In the maze of desire. Multidisciplinary courses, 7-9 November 2024, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.
- Interdisciplinary conference on the theme: At the roots of altruism: empathy, compassion, respect, 6-8 March 2025, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.
- Human dignity and care seminar, April 2025.
- Interdisciplinary conference on the theme: Culture of care and human ecology, 2026, Universidad de Valladolid.
- Interdisciplinary conference on the theme: Pain, suffering, freedom from evil, 2027, University of Messina.
- Final workshop (autumn 2027).